Cap construction for building columns



1963 VP. E. LICHTY ETAL 3,106,270

CAP CONSTRUCTION FOR BUILDING COLUMNS Filed Dec. 8, 1960 I \\\%i\ M L Q2"/9 INVENTOR. l Paid 5 Liz/my BY Charles! z'eged WJ m ATTORNEY? UnitedStates Patent Office 3,106,270 CAP CONSTRUCTION FOR BUILDING COLUMN PaulE. Lichty, Medina, and Charles J. Giegel, Wadsworth, Ohio, assignors toThe Akron Products Company, Selville, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio FiledDec. 8, 196%, Ser. No. 74,570

5 Claims. ('31. 139-42) ly and easily attached to conventional I-beamsand the like.

The present invention is adapted to be utilized in buildingconstructions wherein a column is used as a support between a footingandan overlying beam. In mostinstances, the beam of the I type, and thesupporting column is generally cylindrical in configuration; The columnmay in certain instances be filled with a substance such as concrete,but in most cases is of a hollow construction.

The cap construction of the present invention is rigidly fixed to theupper end of a building column and includes connecting means foroperatively connecting a cap construction to an overlying I-beam or thelike.

Such a cap construction is assembled at a building site, andaccordingly, it is a particularfeature of the present invention toprovide an arrangement which permits the cap construction to beinstalled by relatively unskilled labor with a minimum of time andeffort. vMany prior art constructions employ arrangements wherein holesmust be drilled through the beam whereupon bolts are inserted throughthese holes for securing a cap plate to the beam. This is, of course, atime-consuming operation which is completely eliminatedin the presentinvention.

.In the construction of the present invention, a pair of elongatedribbon-like connecting means are. employed, these ribbons being formedofdeform-able and pliable material such that they canbe readily bent intothe desired operative position. With this construction, it is possiblefora laborer at a building site to deform the connecting means in such amanner as to operatively connect the cap construction to an overlyingbeam thereby completely eliminating the necessityof drillinghny sort ofholes or for that matter performing any operation whatsoever ontheassociated beam.

The cap construction of the present invention includes a flat plateformed of heavy-duty rigid material which is preferably substantiallyrectangular in configuration and includes an upper surface upon whichthe under surface of a beam is adapted to rest.

A pair of spaced recesses are provided in the upper :surface of theplate, and holes are formed'through the plate in communication with the.opposite ends of each recess. A pair of elongated connecting means areprovided inthe form of straps which are threaded through one pair ofopenings. and lie within one of the recesses.

The opposite ends of these" straps are, bent up around the oppositelongitudinal edges of the. plate and the associated oppositelongitudinal edges of the beam, the terstruction such that theymay bereadily deformed into the desired end position. Also, the constructionof the separate deformable connecting means permits the cap constructionto be operatively associated with beams hav- 3,10%,2'19 Patented Oct. 8,1963 ing a lower flange of varying widths thereby providing a maximumdegree of versatility of the apparatus.

An additional feature of the present invention is the provision ofpositioning lugs depending from the under surface of the cap plate,these lugs being adapted to engage either the inner or outer surface ofan associated supporting column for accurately centering the plate withrespect to the column and assisting in maintaining the plate in properoperative position.

An object of the present invention is to provide a new and novel capconstruction for building columns which may be installed with a minimumof time and effort and which completely eliminates the necessity offorming any holes or special attachment means in an associated beam.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a cap constructionfor building columns including a very rigid support plate and yet whichincludes connecting means which may be readily deformed into operativeposition. 5

A further object of the invention is to provide a cap construction forbuilding columns which is adapted to fit different size beams.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a cap constructionfor building columns including positionmg lugs for centering the capplate of the device relative to a supporting column. t

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a capconstruction for building columns which is simple and quite inexpensivein construction, and yet which 30 is sturdy and effective in use.

Other objects and many attendant advantages of the present inventionwill become more apparent when considered in connection with thespecification and accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the cap construction of thepresent invention in operative position at the top of a building columnand supporting an-I- beam thereon;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the cap plate of the present invention; a

FIG. 3 is a top view of the cap plate of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 44 of FIG. 1looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along lure 55 of FIG. 1looking in the-direction of the arrows; and I BIG. 6 is a perspectiveview of the connecting means of the present invention prior to assemblythereof.

Refenring now to the drawings wherein like reference charactersdesignate corresponding parts throughout the several views, there isshown in FIG. 1 a substantially vertically extending building columnindicated generally by reference numeral 10 which is substantiallycylindrical in configuration, the column being supported in any suitablemanner by some sort of a footing. The top end of the building column 10is operatively connected with the novel 7 ,cap construction of thepresent invention including a cap plate 11, the upper edge of thebuilding column being preferably permanently secured thereto as by acircular head of weld as indicated by reference numeral 12.

A pair of connecting means 13 and 14 in the form of elongated deformablestraps are threaded through the plate 11 as will be hereinafter morefully described, the'straps being bent into the operative position shownfor retaining the cap construction in operative position relative to thebeam 15. It is apparent that the under surface 16 of the beam is adaptedto rest upon the upper surface of the flat cap plate 11 to be supportedthereby. The beam 15 is of the I type and includes a central flangeportion 17 formed integral with an upperlaterally extending fiange 18and a lower laterally extending flange 19 as is conventional in the art.

Referring now to FlGS. 2 and 3, the construction of the plate 11 willbecome more readily apparent.

FIG. 2 illustrates a bottom view of the plate according to the presentinvention, and as seen in this figure, a first pair of openings 25 and26 are formed therethrough adjacent one end edge 27 thereof, and asecond pair of openings 28 and 29 are formed therethrough adjacent theopposite and edge 30 thereof. The purpose of these openings will appearhereinafter.

Projecting portions 32 and 33 extend outwardly from the under surface ofthe plate between the pairs of openings 25, 26 and 28, 29 respectively.

A first set of positioning lugs 35 shown as being four in number andsubstantially square in cross-sectional configuration also extendoutwardly from the under surface of the plate, a central aperture 36being formed through the plate. A second set of positioning lugs 37 alsoextend outwardly from the under surface of the plate. The purpose of thepositioning lugs is to accurately center and hold the plate in positionrelative to the upper end of a supporting post.

By providing two sets of positioning lugs 35 and 37, different sizeposts may be accommodated. A first phantom line A indicates the innerdiameter of one size supporting column or post with which the lugs 35are adapted to cooperate for centering the plate with respect thereto. Asecond phantom line B indicates the outer diameter of another size postwith which the positioning lugs 37 are adapted to cooperate forcentering the plate with respect to said post. It is apparent that lugs35 are adapted to engage the inner surface of one size column while thepositioning lugs 37 are adapted to engage the outer surface of anothersize column. Accordingly, an extremely simple and effective constructionis provided for accurately and positively centering the plate 11 withrespect to different size supporting columns.

Referring now particularly to FIG. 3, it will be seen that recesses 35are provided in the upper surface of the plate 11 in directly opposedrelationship to the outwardly projecting lugs 35 extending from theunder surface of the plate. In a similar manner, recesses 37 are formedin the upper surface of the plate in directly opposed relationship tothe lugs 37 extending from the under surface of the plate.

A pair of elongated recesses 32' and 33' are formed in directly opposedrelationship to the projections 32 and 33 extending from the undersurface of the plate, and it will be noted that openings 25, 26 are incommunication with recess 32' at opposite ends thereof while theopenings 28, 29 are in communication with the opposite ends of recess33'.

Referring now to FIG. 6, one of the connecting means 13 employed in thepresent invention is illustrated, this connecting means being initiallyof a substantially U- shaped configuration and including a base portion41 with leg portions 42 and 43 extending substantially normally from theopposite ends of the base portion 41. It will be understood thatconnector means 14 is of the same construction as connecting means 13.This connecting means is formed of a readily deformable material such asmild steel, whereas the main plate 11 is formed of a very rigidheavy-duty type steel or the like. Accordingly, whereas it is virtuallyimpossible to manually bend the plate 11, the connectingmeans 13 in theform of an elongated strap may be readily deformed manually or with theassistance of a suitable tool.

The distance between legs 42 and 43 is substantially equal to thedistance between the adjacent edges of the pair of openingscommunicating with opposite ends of each of recesses 32' and 33'.Accordingly, the U-shaped connecting means 13 can initially be insertedfrom the upper surface of the plate means such that the leg portions 42and 43 of the connecting means project downwardly through the openings25, 26 or 28, 29 in the plate.

When in initially assembled position, the U-shaped connecting means 40will be positioned such that the base portion 41 thereof is seatedwithin one of the recesses 32' or 33'. The thickness of the base portion41 is substantially equal to the depth of the associated recess 32' or33 such that the upper surface of the base portion 41 of the connectingmeans will be disposed substantially flush with the upper surface of theplate 11.

As seen in FIG. 4, the plate 11 is supported upon the upper open end ofthe hollow cylindrical supporting column 10 and welded thereto with thepositioning lugs 35 disposed within the hollow interior of the column.Since the base portion 41 of the connecting means is flush with theupper surface of the plate 11, the under surface 16 of the beam isadapted to rest flush upon the upper surface of the plate as shown.

FIG. 5 illustrates the final position of each of the connecting means,and it will be noted that the leg portions 42 and 43 have been bent uparound the opposite longitudinal edges 50 and 51 of the plate 11 as wellas the opposite longitudinal edges 52 and 53 of the beam. The terminalends 42 and 43 of legs 42 and 4-3 have been bent down against the uppersurfaces of the lower flange 19 on opposite sides of the central flange17 of the beam, and thereby the entire cap construction is operativelyconnected to the beam as well as the supporting column. As mentionedpreviously, it is evident that the initially 'U-shaped connecting means13 or 14 may be deformed into the finished position as seen in FIG. 5either manually or with the use of a simple tool since the connectingmeans is formed of readily deformable material.

As seen in FIG. 5, each of the connecting means is in fact threadedthrough the plate since the elongated straps comprising the connectingmeans extend around the edges of the plate up through one of theopenings therein, thence along a recess formed in the plate, and thenout of the opening at the opposite end of the recess and around theopposite longitudinal edge of the plate.

It is evident that when in the operative position shown, the connectingmeans will effectively prevent any relative sidewise or lengthwisemotion of the plate and attached supporting column with respect to thebeam.

It is apparent from the foregoing that there is provided a new and novelcap construction for building columns which can be installed with aminimum of time and eflfort since it is merely necessary to place the U-shaped connecting means through the openings provided in the plate andinto the recesses thereof whereupon the beam can be placed on the uppersurface of the plate, and the ends of the connecting means may then bebent up into the final operative position. It is obviously not necessaryto weld the connecting means in place nor is it necessary to drill anyextra openings in the beam itself.

A very rigid and sturdy plate is provided for supporting the beam, andyet at the same time a readily deformable connecting means isincorporated in the construction.

The cap construction is adapted to be used with different size beamssince it is evident that if the beam should have a lower flange ofgreater wvidth than the plate, the leg portions 42 and 43 of theconnecting means can still be bent around the opposite longitudinaledges of the lower flange of the beam. If the beam should be quite a bitgreater in width than the plate, different size connecting means may beemployed, and for this purpose, a connecting means having longer legportions will readily accommodate for the difference in Width betweenthe lower flange of the beam and the plate.

The apparatus also includes positioning lugs for accurately centeringthe plate with, respect to a supporting column. The overall apparatus isquite simple and inexpensive in construction, and yet is quite sturdyand effective when in use. 1

As this invention may be embodied in several forms Without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, the presentembodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive, and since thescope of the invention is defined by the appended claims, all changesthat fall within the metes and bounds of the claims or that form theirfunctional as well as conjointly cooperative equivalents are thereforeintended tobe embraced by those claims.

We claim:

:1. A cap construction for building columns comprising a flatsubstantially rectangular cap plate having opposite longitudinal edgesand opposite end edges, said cap plate being formed of heavy-duty rigidsheet material and including an upper and an under surface, said uppersurface having a pair of recesses for-med therein, said plate having twopairs of openings formed therethrough, each opening of one of said pairsbeing in communication with an end portion of an associated recess, apair of elongated connecting means formed of pliable material, each ofof said connecting means being threaded through one of said pairs ofopenings and lying within one of said recesses, said connecting meansbeing of such a thickness as to lie substantially flush with the uppersurface of the plate, the opposite end portions of each of saidconnecting means extending from said openings and being adapted to bebent up around the longitudinal edges of the plate and the longitudinaledges of an associated beam for securing the cap construction inoperative position relative to a beam, and a plurality of positioningl-ugs depending from the under surface of said plate for positioning theplate upon the top end of an associated building column.

2. In combination, a substantially cylindrical building column, a capplate rigidly secured to the upper end of said building column, said capplate being substantially rectangular in configuration and includingopposite longitudinal edges and opposite end edges, said cap plateincluding an upper surface and an under surface, said upper surfacehaving a pair of spaced recesses formed therein, said recesses extendingsubstantially parallel with the opposite end edges of the plate, saidplate having two pairs of openings formed therethrough, each pair ofopenings being in communication with opposite end portions of one ofsaid recesses, a pair of elongated connecting means formed of deformablematerial, each of said connecting means being threaded through one ofsaid pairs of openings and lying within an associated recess, a beamincluding an under surface supported upon the upper surface of saidplate, said connecting means being of such a thickness so as to liesubstantially flush with the upper surface of said plate, the oppositeend portions of each of said connecting means extending outwardly fromsaid openings and being bent up around the opposite longitudinal edgesof the plate and the opposite associated longitudinal edges of the beamwhereby the cap plate is operatively connected.

3. A cap construction for building columns comprising in combination aflat plate formed of heavy-duty rigid sheet material of substantialthickness and having upper and lower parallel surfaces, the plate havingtwo pairs of spaced openings formed therethrough, the pair of openingsbeing located adjacent to opposite edges of the plate, the plate havinga long portion of the material thereof offset from the lower surfacebetween and extend-' ing from the openings of each pair whereby a longrecess is provided in the upper surface of the plate terminating at eachend at an opening, a plurality of elements carried by and projectingfrom the lower surface of the plate between said oifset portions andpositioned around a center lying midway between the said offset portionsfor engagement with the top end of a column to center the plate thereon,and an elongate connecting means of deformable material associated witheach pair of openings and each connecting means having end portionsextensible through a pair of openings with an intermediate portion lyingin the adjacent recess and substantially flush with the upper surface ofthe plate and each connecting means being of a length to have the saidend portions thereof bent upwardly across the adjacent edges of theplate and adjacent longitudinal edges of a beam resting upon the uppersurface of the plate.

4. The invention according to claim 3 with another plurality of elementsprojecting from the lower surface of the plate and positoned around saidcenter and defining a circular area for engagement with a wall of acylindrical column having a different diameter from a cylindrical columnwall with which the first named elements are adapted to engage.

5. The invention according to claim 4 wherein the said elementspositioned around said center constitute portions of the material of theplate extending fromthe said lower surface of the plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS813,318 McCarthy Feb. 20, 1906 1,052,207 Beckman Feb. 4, 1913 1,547,175Lally July 28, 1925 1,672,171 Reis June 5, 1928 1,719,823 Eklof July 9,1929 2,812,834 Le Jeune Nov. 12, 1957 2,900,056 Greulich Aug. 18, 1959UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No, 3,106,270 October 8, 1963 Paul E, Lichty et a1.

error appears in the above numbered pat- It is hereby certified that tthe said Letters Patent should read as ent requiring correction and the,corrected below.

and in the heading to the printed In the grant, line 3,

Ohio", each occurrence,

specification, line 5, for "Selville, read Seville, Ohio Signed andsealed this 21st day of April 1964.

ERNEST W. SWIDER Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

1. A CAP CONSTRUCTION FOR BUILDING COLUMNS COMPRISING A FLATSUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR CAP PLATE HAVING OPPOSITE LONGITUDINAL EDGESAND OPPOSITE END EDGES, SAID CAP PLATE BEING FORMED OF HEAVY-DUTY RIGIDSHEET MATERIAL AND INCLUDING AN UPPER AND AN UNDER SURFACE, SAID UPPERSURFACE HAVING A PAIR OF RECESSES FORMED THEREIN, SAID PLATE HAVING TWOPAIRS OF OPENINGS FORMED THERETHROUGH, EACH OPENING OF ONE OF SAID PAIRSBEING IN COMMUNICATION WITH AN END PORTION OF AN ASSOCIATED RECESS, APAIR OF ELONGATED CONNECTING MEANS FORMED OF PLIABLE MATERIAL, EACH OFOF SAID CONNECTING MEANS BEING THREADED THROUGH ONE OF SAID PAIRS OFOPENINGS AND LYING WITHIN ONE OF SAID RECESSES, SAID CONNECTING MEANSBEING OF SUCH A THICKNESS AS TO LIE SUBSTANTIALLY FLUSH WITH THE UPPERSURFACE OF THE PLATE, THE OPPOSITE END PORTIONS OF EACH OF SAIDCONNECTING MEANS EXTENDING FROM SAID OPENINGS AND BEING ADAPTED TO BEBENT UP AROUND THE LONGITUDINAL EDGES OF THE PLATE AND THE LONGITUDINALEDGES OF AN ASSOCIATED BEAM FOR SECURING THE CAP CONSTRUCTION INOPERATIVE POSITION RELATIVE TO A BEAM, AND A PLURALITY OF POSITIONINGLUGS DEPENDING FROM THE UNDER SURFACE OF SAID PLATE FOR POSITIONING THEPLATE UPON THE TOP END OF AN ASSOCIATED BUILDING COLUMN.